BATORS, STIV - L.A L.A (Dead Boys -powerpop garage) CD

As the frontman for the Dead Boys, Stiv Bators terrorized audiences with his snotty, in-your-face punk rock style. But after the Dead Boys, Bators embarked on a musical journey that saw him touch upon new wave (the Wanderers), goth rock (the Lords of the New Church), and power pop (during a brief solo career), as well as a fling with movie acting.

Born Steve Bator on October 22, 1949, in Youngstown, OH, Bators took a liking to garage rock and proto-punk early on -- a story he liked to tell is that it was he who handed Iggy Pop the jar of peanut butter that he smeared across his chest and threw around while walking on the audience during the Stooges' televised infamous 1970 rock festival in Ohio (additionally, Bators befriended the Ramones during the quartet's first Ohio performance). AMG

TRACK LISTING

Those who know Stiv Bators only from his ground-breaking punk rock with the Dead Boys and the Lords of the New Church will be pleased to see him tackling early rock music standards like "Louie Louie" ("L.A. L.A."), the other great Richard Berry anthem "Have Love Will Travel", and the Moody Blues hit "The Story in Your Eyes". The title song features new lyrics by Bators that are surprisingly well wrought considering the loose nature of the recording session (which included Kim Fowley and members of Sham 69, the Runaways and The Popsicles). The flip side of the first single to emerge from Bomp, "It's Cold Outside" (originally by the Choir, which later reformed as the Raspberries with Eric Carmen) is a song that the Dead Boys reportedly could not figure out how to play. The most poignant and perhaps the best track on the album, "I'm No More" is a beautifully rendered love song that was to have been his last single with Bomp. Following these sessions, Stiv Bators returned to Paris and began working on another solo album. His untimely death came less than three years later.

 1. "The Last Year" - Rel. May 1979, single version
 2. "It's Cold Outside" - Rel. May 1979, single version
 3. "Circumstantial Evidence" - Rel. January 1980, single version
 4. "Not that Way Anymore" - Rel. January 1980, single version
 5. "I'll Be Alright" - Rec. 1980, unreleased demo
 6. "I Stand Accused" - Rec. 1979, unreleased demo
 7. "L.A. L.A." - Rec. Jan. 1980, unreleased jam session
 8. "Blues" - Rec. January 1980, unreleased jam session
 9. "Factory Boy" - Rec. January 1980, unreleased jam session
 10. "Story in Your Eyes" - Rel. Fall of 1986
 11. "Have Love Will Travel" - Rel. Fall of 1986
 12. "I'm No More" - Rel. 1987, unreleased demo
 13. "Gudbuy t' Jayne" - Rel. 1987, unreleased demo
 14. "Circumstantial Evidence" - alternate version
 15. "I'll Be Alright" - alternate version
 16. "Not that Way Anymore" - alternate version
 17. "It's Cold Outside" - alternate version
 18. "The Last Year" - alternate version